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Police were called by concerned neighbors to investigate the garage at 3012 Kinsey Avenue where a couple, 22-year-old Justin Sorter and 23-year-old Danae Haynes, and their baby were living.

Police said the recorded low temperature for the night was 32 degrees. Neighbors told police they saw the child playing outside wearing little clothing.

"The concern from our angle is the health and welfare of the child,” said Des Moines police Sgt. Jason Halifax.

Halifax told KCCI that police were even more concerned with what they found inside. According to an incident report, the garage they were living in was "in terrible condition with random junk and trash strewn about."

Police said they also found a large fixed-blade hunting knife near where the baby was sleeping and pipes use for smoking narcotics, along with K2, which is a synthetic narcotic.

According to the report, Sorter told police he “smoked a bowl of K2” before they arrived at the scene.

"We've seen, we've had it in Des Moines, a number of occasions in the last several months where folks who had smoked that suffered heart problems," said Halifax. “That may render someone unsuitable to care for a child."

Halifax said police also found a tent with a space heater and blankets inside, which he said is a fire hazard.

Jami Olson lives across the street from the garage.

"It's just sad that there's parenting like that out in the world, somebody that would leave their baby sitting in the cold," said Olson.

She told KCCI News she doesn't think the garage was a safe living space for the baby.

"I definitely think it was good for the law enforcement to step in like that and remove the baby from that situation."

Haynes and Sorter told police the detached garage they lived in belonged to Sorter's aunt and she would not let the couple live in her house.

Haynes also told police she had been turned away from local shelters because of the baby.

Friend defends couple

Annette Thompson said the family is going through tough times.

She said her friends shouldn't have had their baby taken away from them.

"I don't think they should be punished because they're trying to do the best they can with what they have," said Thompson. "Danae and Justin are good people. I know that with all my heart."